Wu'an Qingyan Temple Village - Fahua Cave Grottoes.

Before, I only knew that every spring, I would come to Qingyan Temple Village to enjoy the apricot blossoms. This year, I saw the Thousand-Hand Guanyin statue at the Handan Museum Stone Carving Exhibition, and I finally had the chance to see it today. The Fahua Cave Grottoes have three caves, with Northern Song Dynasty statues. In addition to the beautifully shaped Thousand-Hand Guanyin in the main cave, there are also 500 Arhat statues, but most of the heads were repaired in recent years after being damaged. However, most of the grottoes are mainly Thousand Buddhas, and there are very few 500 Arhat caves in the country. Perhaps this place is hidden deep in the village and is not well-known. It took a lot of effort to find it by car. Interestingly, there is a master in the temple. As soon as I arrived, he enthusiastically greeted me to worship and followed me all the way. He asked about the origin of the name of Fahua Temple. Because I knew about the concept of the three vehicles in one in the "Lotus Sutra" before I came, I wanted to explore further, so I asked. He replied: "I'm not sure about this. This is Mahayana Buddhism. It's very effective. Many people from Beijing, Shanghai, and Wutai Mountain come to donate incense and fire. Only when you give money can you get it back thousands of times." Then I didn't say much. The full name of the "Lotus Sutra" is "The Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law". Its highlight is the three convenient vehicles, the true one vehicle, which can be said to be the culmination of Mahayana thought. The three vehicles of Buddhism are the Sravaka Vehicle (Hinayana), the Pratyekabuddha Vehicle (Middle Vehicle), and the Bodhisattva Vehicle (Mahayana). These three vehicles represent the three levels of Buddhist teachings, each with its own unique practice methods and goals. The Sravaka Vehicle and the Pratyekabuddha Vehicle pay more attention to personal practice and liberation, while the Bodhisattva Vehicle emphasizes self-improvement and ultimate enlightenment in helping others. The core concept of the Three Vehicles of Buddhism is that through different practice paths, everyone has the possibility to achieve ultimate enlightenment and liberation. From the perspective of the Fahua Cave Grottoes, the 500 Arhats represent the Sravaka Vehicle, the stone tablet has the verse "Twelve causes and conditions of love and hate, no hate, no love, no ignorance" is the Pratyekabuddha Vehicle, and finally the Thousand-Hand Guanyin is the Bodhisattva Vehicle. Therefore, the Fahua Cave Grottoes are named after the "Fahua" in the "Lotus Sutra".